User blog:John Pan/M512 Hercules
M512 Heracles Named after a very unlucky, yet very famous (and incredibly strong) demigod in Greek Mythology, the M512 takes care of every single combat engineering role in the NAU. Yes, every single role—the loadout is modular, allowing the vehicle to be equipped with the right tools for the right job. Best of all, it only requires 15 minutes for a team of experienced engineers (with tethered XOS exoskeletons) to swap modules. When spearheading an assault, it clears the way; when backing the frontline, it repairs nearby vehicles. Best of all, it's a “Robotics Technology Demonstrator”. Crew Composition *Remote Operator—Vehicle Sensory The Heracles gets an E/O optics suite and six LADARs for proper automated maneuvering. A GPS Blue-force-tracker is standard. Upgrades None. Armament Pioneer Module With the Pioneer module, the Heracles gets a sturdy AMAP-covered casemate with defense-breaching equipment. Plus, it gets a nanocrystal-steel bulldozer blade complete with anti-mine spikes in the front of the vehicle. M2 BMG (1) Mounted on a rooftop remote weapons station, the trusty Ma Duce .50 caliber machine gun is soldiering past 110 years of age. Even so, it is still very reliable and deadly, firing a massive round. With a nightvision-capable TV camera for targeting, the vehicle's operator can utilize the weapon without ever leaving the vehicle. It is equipped with a 400-round magazine. Keeps enemy infantry away very effectively. 300mm Demolition Gun (1) Built for demolition and path-clearing, the Hercules mounts a 300mm demolition gun that fires either a 75-kilogram HESH shell or a 75kg proximity-detonation napalm canister. The gun can just blow the crap out of any hardened structure to Kingdom Come, or purge the area of nearly anything with 1,000 degree Celsius heat. Ten shells, eight HESH and two Napalm, are stowed internally and replenished automatically. Python MICLIC (2) Stacked on the top of the vehicle's fixed casemate, the Python MICLIC can clear a 7.3m x200m safe zone through a minefield in less than five minutes. The Python is a 250mm rocket with a 228 meter-long hose filled with 1455kg of HE. Kaboom, and there you have it, a clear (and cratered) path. Having two launchers allows for two MICLICs to be deployed in tandem, to destroy anything the first blast didn't take care of. Two extra reloads for each launcher are stowed internally and are automatically replenished. Assault Bridge Module When there are massive craters, ravines, ditches, rivers etc. to cross, the Heracles can be equipped with a single HDAB and an elevating LADAR to correctly position the bridge. HDAB (1) The Heavy-Duty Assault Bridge is a self-deploying two-piece 22-meter bridge with automated spade anchors (to secure itself in the dirt). Once deployed, the HDAB can support a 50-ton Spartan moving at 30kmph or a lighter 30-ton Charioteer racing through at 50kmph. Even previous-generation 70-ton Abrams tanks can pass through at 15kmph without issues. Engineering Module To perform the role of an Engineering Support Vehicle, the Heracles can get a powerful forward-facing hydraulic crane, a compartment for four engineers plus their tethered XOS suits, plus a load of engineering equipment, ranging from crates of vehicle spare parts to packaged HESCO Bastions to coils of Concertina Wire. It gets a bulldozer blade in the front of the vehicle. Field Defenses The following is a list of field defenses a Heracles with the Engineering Module can construct. *Concertina Wire—three coils of barbed wire strung on iron stakes, two on the bottom and one on the top. Cannot be hopped by infantry, but anything larger can easily flatten it. *HESCO Bastion—a good-old sandbag wall, only that it's 2.1m tall, 1.5m wide, 30m long, and uses Kevlar and wire mesh instead of cloth. Effective at blocking HE, light RPGs, small arms, light cannon shells, infantry, and light to medium vehicles. Can be upgraded with concertina wire on the top, making it much harder for infantry to climb over. *ARGES Mine—ARGES is an off-route anti-tank mine consisting of a rocket (and launch tube), a tripod, and a sensor package. The device uses an acoustic sensor to detect the approach of a suitable target (vehicle) and activates the passive IR and laser sensors. When the vehicle passes in front of the mine, it fires a modified LAW 80 tandem-HEAT rocket. The rocket is fully armed at 2 meters, and self-destructs past 100m. The mine is fully programmable, able to select a specific target in a convoy of vehicles, and has a programmable self-destruct time of between 3 hours and 720 hours. *Fighting Position—a small 1.5m deep cross-shaped pit complete with a grenade sump to minimize frag damage. Has enough space to squeeze in a single 5-man squad of infantry—Titans need not apply. Can be upgraded to obtain camouflage netting, timber/ steel reinforcement, or even an M2 HMG, complete with ammunition and crew. *Hull-down position—a large pit, deepest position 1m, with the excavated dirt piled around it. The rear is left open, allowing tanks and other vehicles to enter, leaving only their turret (or, if it doesn't have a turret, its weapon system and/or optics) above ground. Vastly improves the protection of that vehicle against flat-trajectory weapons. Can be upgraded to obtain frostproof flooring to ensure tank tracks don't freeze to the ground, camouflage netting, and drainage provisions so the floor hull-down position doesn't turn into a pond. Hydraulic Crane (1) The Hercules' strength comes in the form of a powerful 50-ton crane. It can be used by Combat Engineers to pick up vehicles, fitted with an excavator bit to dig earthworks, and position and move field defenses. Upgrades M117A (1) The tiny amount of space behind the tank allows the Heracles to carry a single M117A Mastiff, along with the drone's own variable-height (to allow roll-on/roll-off) stowage compartment. It can be deployed (and recovered) and operated by the remote operator. Helps out in the EOD role. Engineering Kit Exclusively available for the M117A, the ESV Mastiff can get an extra robotic arm mounting a wide variety of vehicle repair equipment. Along with a couple cases of spare parts, the M117A can turn into a remote-control vehicle repair platform. Very, very handy for in-field repair. Protection The M512 Heracles is protected by multiple AMAP modules. The base AMAP modules protects the tank from 40mm APFSDS rounds, while additional AMAP-B plating on the front arc can resist 120mm M829A4 rounds (but only exist in the Pioneer Module.) RPGs are countered by AMAP-P, cluster-munition explosively formed penetrators are defied by AMAP-R, and 200kg IEDs feel like running over a bump, thanks to AMAP-M. To reduce the brunt of penetrating projectiles, AMAP-L is applied to the inside of the vehicle's many compartments, increasing the possibility of equipment survival. Last but not least, it has an AMAP-ADS suite that blows up guided missiles. Upgrades ElRA ElRA, or Electro-Reactive Armor, is and advanced from of projectile-defeating reactive armor. Found as bolt-on-and-plug-in tiles, ElRA defeats penetrating projectiles by vaporizing them. Yes, vaporizing. It consists of two copper plates, insulating foam, a voltage convertor, and a direct power line to the vehicle. Once a projectile penetrates the outer copper plate and closes the circuit between the two copper plates, 60,000 volts of electricity is instantly dumped into object, vaporizing it outright. ElRA vastly increases the Heracles' survivability. Only available on the Pioneer Module. Mobility The M512 is powered by a 40.0 liter Direct-injected supercharged (mechanical air compression) diesel W-16. The engine is a four-bank W (or double V) configuration engine, essentially two V-8s bolted together. This design allows it to contain a high number of cylinders in a relatively compact space. Coupled to an electric generator, the engine's 1,500 horsepower is converted into electricity, which is either stored in the vehicle's massive lithium-polymer battery block, or used in the its four drive-sprocket hub motors, which deliver 300hp each. It can move the 50-ton vehicle at 100 kilometers per hour on paved roads, and, thanks to its advanced hydropneumatic “kneeling” suspension (that be used to lower the vehicle from 60cm of ground clearance for cross-country maneuvering to 10cm for hull down) 70 kmph on rough terrain. The engine is encased in IR-opaque materials, and its exhaust is both muffled and cooled. Upgrades None. Category:Blog posts